Lewis Hamilton jumpstarted the sleepy Formula 1 off-season for the second successive season as the seven-time champion began his first days for Ferrari last week. Despite being out of the title fight for three seasons, the media attention on Maranello demonstrated the star power Hamilton still has. It may not have been the shock news of 12 months ago when his bombshell Ferrari announcement stunned the sporting world, but F1's most successful driver still made the headlines.
From his first-day-at-school photograph outside Ferrari's headquarters to the maiden run in red around the Scuderia's private Fiorano circuit, the coverage levels of a new driver joining a team are unprecedented in F1. Even the great Michael Schumacher was 'only' a two-time title winner when he first wore the Prancing Horse overalls on his way to being one of F1's greatest drivers. Hamilton is already there, and joining the oldest and most storied team represents a once-in-a-generation motorsports collaboration.
No matter what he achieves in the famous scarlet car, this year starts a new chapter for Hamilton. He's always had Mercedes powering him in his F1 career, even in his McLaren years, and the move away shows the pull of the Italian outfit. More than Ferrari's prestige has lured Hamilton, however.
You can't overstate how critical Team Principal Frederic Vasseur's presence is for Hamilton and the direction he has taken F1's oldest team since taking the Prancing Horse's reigns. Vasseur helped Hamilton succeed before his 2007 F1 debut by managing the GP2 team where the then-teen Briton shone brightly. Hamilton had McLaren backing him in that 2006 GP2 season, but Vasseur's stewardship at his ART GP team helped Hamilton to impress in that 14-podium season. It would be poetic for the two to end Hamilton's career how they started it.
Of course, there are sizeable hurdles to overcome for championship-winning success, but Vassuer looks to have addressed the slump in form Ferrari found themselves in before his arrival. The Frenchman replaced Mattia Binotto at the end of 2022. He subsequently took the Scuderia to six grands prix victories, including being the only team to stop Red Bull's otherwise all-conquering 2023 season. Seeing as Ferrari only mustered four wins in the three seasons before Vasseur's arrival, that's quite a turnaround.
Vasseur's record is even more impressive when reports suggested he was Ferrari's third choice to take over. Ex-McLaren Andreas Seidl had already signed to join the Audi program and rejected the Italians. And Red Bull's Christian Horner remained loyal to his long-time employer when Ferrari asked for his services. There's no way of knowing what Hamilton would've done had Vasseur not joined Ferrari, but seeing the trajectory his trusted GP2 boss was taking Ferrari would've made the contract signing far easier.
While the winning feeling has repeatedly returned to Maranello at the hands of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz under Vasseur's stewardship, times haven't been as kind for Hamilton. His final three seasons for Mercedes had only one on-track victory in the rain-affected 2024 British GP.
A disqualification for teammate George Russell at the Belgian GP three weekends later handed him a second triumph, but just 1.5kg separated Russell from keeping the winner's trophy. Unsurprisingly, questions over whether Hamilton can still fight for a title hang over the now 40-year-old racer.
On the other hand, Ferrari have seen their homegrown hopeful in Leclerc bring some 43 trophies back to Maranello, with a personal-best return of 13 podiums secured last season. They backed the Monegasque driver as part of their Academy program back in 2016 and first brought him to F1 in 2018 via Sauber, who coincidentally were then under Vasseur's leadership. Leclerc's two Italian GP triumphs have turned him into a prince of the devout Tifosi, and he now needs to win a championship to cement his place as an honorary Italian hero.
Hamilton joins Ferrari as F1 royalty already with nothing to prove. Pitting Leclerc, a Ferrari-bred driver who should be at the apex of his career, against an F1 force in his own right is either a masterstroke by Vasseur or a destructive bomb waiting to explode. Should the Scuderia continue their ascent, the team will have to back one over the other for championship glory and alienate the other.
Would Ferrari support the driver who joined their family nearly a decade ago and show they can nurture a champion? Or do they finally shrug off their unwanted recent history of failing big-name drivers like Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel by backing Hamilton?
Whatever happens in the future, the evocative images from Italy last week can't help but stir emotions for even casual fans. The Ferrari brand speaks for itself, and seeing 44, a simple number that Hamilton has transformed into an F1 symbol, adorned on the engine cover of the SF-23 was a milestone moment.
It may be just an old car trundling around a circuit that the sport doesn't visit to help Hamilton understand procedures, but it nonetheless felt special. There are so many driver swaps and new faces for the 2025 season, yet no other debut will rival seeing Hamilton in red on a misty Italian morning.
Formula One is more competitive than ever and is simultaneously drawing in a broader audience. New regulations designed to close the pack even further are around the corner in 2026. And amid all this, the sport's most successful team and the sport's most successful driver are joining forces. It's a perfect storm for F1 to enter an iconic era. Could Hamilton begin it by clinching his eighth World Drivers' Championship title? We'll have our first indication when the lights go out in Melbourne on March 16th.
